Volksgrenadier Squad
"Volksgrenadiers, ready to push back the Yankees!" The Volksgrenadier Squad or Volks Squad is an Axis Infantry Unit featured in Company of Heroes. Game Info Volksgrenadier Squad is based on the infantry of the German Volkssturm division of the Wehrmacht. The Volkssturm was formed by the Wehrmaht in the Autumn of 1944 as a result of an emergency shortage of manpower. The Volksgrenadiers were rebuilt from broken or destroyed infantry divisions. During that time, boys, elderly men, men previously rejected as physical unfit for army service, and 'jobless' personnel were accepted into the army. The Volksgrenadier term itself was intended to boost morale, appealing the term of Nationality and Patriotism and the old military tradition. The Volkssturm's purpose was to rush to the front with minimum training and they performed poorly in the early stages of their deployment. However, they fought bravely at the later stages despite having weak organization and a poor strategic situation. Oddly enough,while Company of Heroes is assumed to take place in the time that the Wehrmacht was so low in supplies that Volks had to usually provide their own uniform,the Volksgrenadier outfits are the 1944 suits(White suits with straight Lederhosen and a Kepi). Volksgrenadier Squads are the most numerous infantry squad possessed by the Axis force, and so should be eagerly used to re-crew fallen 88mms, mg42 machine guns, or pak38s. Similar to the Riflemen Squad, they are available early on in the game. Assuming equal strength cover and no upgrades, Volksgrenadiers will beat Riflemen squads at long range fights, while the Riflemen will win at short range fighting. Although poorly trained, their numbers and low cost make up for that. Axis Commanders preferred to train them for capturing strategic point duty. They are also trained to fight along with a panzer division and use their large numbers to overwhelm the Allies' position. They are also capable of constructing simple defenses such as sandbags and barbed wire. By default,they are armed with the K98K rifle (Except the lead Volk who carries an STG44, however he will only fire a quick 3-shot succesion), and they can be upgraded with MP40 Submachine gun which increases their close-to mid range combat effectiveness for 50 Munitions, however you must have at least 3 Volks and every single man will get them. They can also fire the disposable 100 mm Panzerfaust, an anti-tank weapon that fires a shaped-charge warhead packed with 2.9 kilograms and 0.8 kilograms of TNT and hexagon explosive. Although it costs 35 Munitions, the panzerfaust warhead is capable of knocking out light and medium armored vehicles, and severely damage tanks, buildings and base structures (Generally, however, you'll want to save this ability for greyhounds, bren carriers, or nearly finished tanks). They are one of the cheapest units to train and reinforce. The Kampkrafte Center can increase their veterancy which will increase their combat effectiveness. The Volksgrenadier Squad is one major fighting force most Axis armies can't live without. Veterancy is gained in this order: Vet1- Health Regeneration 10.56/min Vet2- Received Suppression x0.75 - Received Damage x0.95 Vet3- Maximum Health x1.2 Combat History(Campaign) The first encounter with Volksgrenadier Squad in the US Campaign is during the the first mission-Omaha Beach. Although large in numbers, they were unable to stop Able Company from clearing the beach head. When two of their 88mm Flak 36s were destroyed by Able Company, the Volksgrenadier Squads, along with other infantry retreated. For the British, during the mission D-Day +1, 3rd Battalion(Boudica's Boys) launched an armour offensive to take the town Authie. 12th SS Panzer Division's Volksgrenadier Squads along with Grenadier Squads tried to hold the line and attempt to push the 3rd Battalion back using thier infamous panzer such as the Marder III, Stug IV assault gun and the Panzer IV. Combined with tanks, infantry and the 25 pounder Gun Howitzer artillery, 3rd Battalion was able to defeat the 12th SS Panzer Division and secure the town of Authie. In the Panzer Elite campaign, Kampfgruppe Lehr was training newly formed Volksgrenadier Squads when suddenly a massive airborne assault took place. All of the Volksgrenadier Squads in that mission place themselves onto the 20mm Flak 38 or the 88mm Flak 36 to shoot down Allies fighter bombers and prevent any British Airborne troops from pushing out of Wolfhenze. They are used as gun crew instead of regular infantry. Volksgrenadier Squads,despite having poor combat performance, they make plenty of appearances in most scenarios in the game. In one senario, a Volksgrenadier tries to calm his squad member down by giving them a puff, when he threw the cigarette into midair, an instant gunfight breaks out. in the end, instead of Volksgrenadier, a Commando picks it up, smokes it and says "This Hun Ciggy isn't half bad!" which indicates the Commandos had killed the stationed Volksgrenadiers. They also make plenty of appearances in the heat of combat, from manning the anti-aircraft gun to attacking Dog Company during the mission of the Red Ball Express. Weakness Although large in number, Volksgrenadier Squads are not as combat effective as their Allies counterpart. Riflemen Squads upgraded with the BAR Automatic Rifles can defeat them easily, as such most Allied commanders immediately get the BAR to keep Volks down. As they received little training, they are also poor in morale. They can be pinned down from heavy fire such as machine guns and flamethrowers more quickly than the highly trained Grenadier Squads, however Volksgrenadiers do NOT have a defense loss from being supressed and pinned unlike other infantry. Like other infantry, the Volksgrenadier Squads are pretty vulnerable to any form of attack unless they have good cover. Category:Company of Heroes Category:Axis Category:Infantry